3 Areas Business Owners Neglect When Growing Their Business
Another one! You just landed another sale and that is one more than you did last month. Your business is doing great and growing upwards. As the sales come in you start making plans for even more growth. Maybe you bring on another set of hands or upgrade that computer - thank goodness too, the keyboard was missing the “M” key.
As your business grows there are going to be areas of your business you want to invest in and then there are going to be areas you need to invest in. Either way, there are a few nonnegotiables you should move to the top of your list as you enjoy this new found success.
The great thing about this article is these are going to be areas you will want to consider no matter whether you are moving from solopreneur -> small team or team of ten -> office of 60. With all stages of growth consider this your checklist for the areas that may need a little bit of TLC.
1. Cash Flow
With a growing business this can easily become a big challenge if you do not keep an eye on your cash flow. Cash flow analyzes the ins and outs of cash in your business. It is ensuring you always have enough cash on hand for your bills and ensuring you are getting paid within an appropriate window.
In the early stages of your business this can be more simple to manage but when the money starts to flow you may notice your needs growing quicker than your profits. For example, you may need to bring on another talented team member but do not have the consistent cash to pay them just yet.
Having a handle on the cash flows of your business will help create stability as you grow to this new stage.
2. Delegating
As a business grows it is common for many roles to change. What once was a solopreneur who was able to oversee accounting, marketing, sales, customer services, and plenty of other operations, is now a business owner with a team of people to head all of those departments.
Delegating cannot happen overnight so it is helpful to understand what areas are most urgently need to be delegated. Consider making a list of all your responsibilities and assign them to one of the 4 categories below:
You dislike the work and you are not good at it
You like the work but you are not good at it
You dislike the work but you are good at it
You like the work and you are good at it
Start with the first group of tasks in your list and begin delegating those out. It will take some time to train those you are delegating these tasks to but ultimately it should be their responsibility. Remember, it is important for others to take over the responsibility of this work. The more you step in, the less you are delegating.
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3. Organization
You and your team have been working together for a long time. You have processes but none of them are formally written down. You have a filing system but sometimes you drop things in slack or the “junk” folder and they never get sorted. No matter how you get through your day-to-day, it is important to keep it organized.
As an accountant, I emphasize organization for a number of reasons. It may be for tax compliance, easily retrieving receipts, or more accurate financial statements. For business growth, being organized is what will help you be able to scale quicker.
As you bring on additional employees, you will want a place they can go for great training and understanding of your process. This will ensure you maintain quality.
As your needs grow and more hands become involved in the work, you will want to make sure there aren’t too many “cooks in the kitchen” when it comes to managing your documents. For example, if you were to have a single folder for marketing but it housed all of your web design, content creation, and sales documents, you could have many people operating within a single folder. This could create more confusion than clarity.
If your goal is for growth, then nothing is more exciting as when you start hitting those sales and profit goals. We encourage you to enjoy your financial success and spend some time in self reflection over how far you have come - but don’t stop there.
As you grow, you will want to consider these 3 areas business owners often overlook while they are reaping the rewards for their hard work. While you have reached your goals, it does not necessarily mean it is time to slow down. Take a break if you must but continue to be strategic with your next move.
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